Jayhawk Baseball to Play in Kansas City Tournament
April 25, 2005
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The University of Kansas baseball team will take a break from the rigors of playing in the Big 12 Conference this week as it makes the short journey to Kansas City, Kan., to play two games at Community America Ballpark, home of the Kansas City T-Bones, as part of the Best of the Midwest Tournament.
The Jayhawks will take on New Mexico State on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and will return to Kansas City to battle Sacramento State on Wednesday at noon. The game with Sacramento State was originally scheduled for 2 p.m. but was moved forward to accommodate the travel plans of the Hornets. Kansas is 21-10 in non-conference games this season and will look to build momentum for the final month of the season as it will face Big 12 foes Kansas State, Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma State.
Junior outfielder A.J. Van Slyke shrugged off his recent struggles at the plate by posting a big offensive performance last week. The Ladue, Mo., native finished the week with a .545 (6-for-11) batting average at the plate and connected on a pair of long balls to tie fellow outfielder Gus Milner for the team lead with eight. With six RBI, Van Slyke added to his team lead in that category, bringing his season total to 42 runs batted in.
On the mound, Freshman Tyson Corley made an impression in his first career start on Saturday as he pitched a strong seven innings and limited Texas Tech’s potent offense to only three earned runs on four hits to earn the first victory of his career.
New Mexico State enters Tuesday’s contest with an overall record of 22-17 this season and a 7-5 mark in the Sun Belt Conference, while Sacramento State comes to Kansas City sporting an 18-22-1 overall record.
In other featured games at the tournament, Kansas State will take on Sacramento State at 2 p.m. on Saturday before squaring off against New Mexico State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Individual game tickets for the tournament will be priced at $5, while tickets for all four games of the tournament will be $15. For tickets call (913) 599-4196.
